Battle of Bocceum

The Battle of Bocceum was the final battle between the Roman Republic and Veii during the Roman-Etruscan Wars, fought between a Roman legion (plus the garrison of Rome) and a Veiian rebel army to the north of Rome in 396 BC. In the ensuing battle, the Roman general Lucius Furius Medullinus crushed Tite Apaiatrus' Veiian rebel army, putting an end to Veiian resistance to Roman rule.

Background
In 397 BC, the Roman Republic conquered Veii after a long and bloody campaign. However, the war bankrupted the Republic, and Rome's poor economic state led to unrest in all parts of the republic. The Romans attempted to solve this by disbanding their mercenary units and by granting asylum to the wealthy Carthaginian fugitive Zimrida, and they were ultimately able to recover. However, the Romans were unable to solve the issue with the restive Etruscans, whose anger at Rome's conquest of their lands had only increased due to Rome's plunder of Veii and the poor economy.

In 396 BC, the Etruscan notable Tite Apaiatrus led a rebellion in Cisra, and 380 Etruscans flocked to his cause. They formed a small army to the south of Cisra, where Lucius Furius Medullinus and his veteran Legio II Augusta were encamped. Medullinus led his legion out of the city to attack Apaiatrus' small force, but Apaiatrus withdrew south towards Rome. Medullinus pursued him further, bringing him to battle halfway between the two cities at Bocceum (now Boccea, a municipality of Rome). To make matters worse for Apaiatrus, Decimus Plotius Lactuca and the garrison of Rome joined the battle.

Battle
The two sides met in battle on a foggy evening, and the Roman armies charged the Etruscan rebel force from two sides. The Romans crashed into the Etruscans from the back and front, and the Etruscan found themselves fighting two battles at once. The Romans overwhelmed the crew of the Etruscan ballistae, capturing the machinery; they also slew Apaiatrus and most of his men in battle after fully encircling and charging them. Of the 380 Etruscan battles who engaged in the battle, 330 were killed and 44 were captured, and only 6 escaped. As the battle meant defeat for the rebellion, the Romans butchered the 44 captives to send a message; the Veiian cities soon experienced improvements in their public order due to a restoration of economic prosperity and the defeat of their uprising.